Environment & Water Sustainability
ENVIRONMENT
It is beyond doubt that there is an urgent call worldwide for action against climate change and towards environmental sustainability. More than 1 million species face the risk of extinction and the worst impacts of climate change could be irreversible by 2030.
We have pledged to strive towards environmental and water sustainability. We strongly believe that the sustainability of the rural environment is fundamental to the development of the village as part of a global community. The sustainable development of rural communities is at the heart of our unique rural development model.
Our many environmental activities include community and beach cleanups to reduce plastic, garbage and pollution, tree planting programmes, recycling drives, awareness programmes and ocean care initiatives to remove pollutants from the ocean as well as to help restore our depleted coral reefs
THE GOODNESS AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE
Education and awareness is one of the main forms of action towards environmental sustainability. The Goodness Agriculture initiative aims to educate the students of FoG to become future world leaders in sustainability and champions of nature, who actively participate in protecting the Environment.
Environmental awareness is paramount in today’s world, with climate change and ever increasing pollution levels. Launched in June 2020, the Goodness Agriculture Initiative is currently underway at all our Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres (VHE) island wide. It teaches our beneficiaries the intricacies of agriculture, gardening and much more!
Sri Lanka being a predominantly agriculture based economy highlights the importance of knowing the key challenges of agriculture, the best solutions and which plants are best suited for the climate in each area. Our beneficiaries get to go out to the home gardens at our Centres and have a hands on experience in gardening and planting!
WATER
The rapid spread of Chronic Kidney Disease in recent years has been a serious problem in Sri Lanka which requires immediate action, and the Foundation of Goodness is committed to providing clean drinking water to these communities. Chronic Kidney Disease is thought to possibly occur due to the presence of pesticides and the chemicals arsenic, cadmium and lead in the water source.
The Ministry of Health reports up to 400,000 patients suffering from CKD with up to 13 deaths per day due to the disease, highlighting the need for immediate action. Reverse Osmosis Water Purification is one of the few water purification techniques which can remove chemical contaminants from the water, which is what is most needed in the given situation. The Reverse Osmosis Water Purification project aims to bring relief to rural villages across Sri Lanka by providing a constant supply of clean drinking water. We currently have 15 RO plants that has brought relief to more than 11,000 beneficiaries.
OCEAN CARE: AN EXTRAORDINARY INITIATIVE TO SAVE OUR SEAS!
The ocean is said to be Earth’s life support, containing 97% of the world’s water resources. However, at the rate at which humans are polluting the ocean and damaging marine life, our ecosystem is rapidly degrading. Our actions over the next 10 years will determine the state of the ocean for the next 10,000 years.
It is against this backdrop that our dive centre, Dive for Good, has begun the remarkable Ocean Care Initiative. Five certified divers from the Dive for Good Centre in Seenigama spend up to 4 hours scouring the ocean floor for trash of every kind toup 20-30 KG of trash per session which include plastic, fabric, polythene, timber, rubber, fishing nets and much more. We hope to continue to conduct campaigns until the beautiful oceans of Sri Lanka are trash free.
This incredible project titled: “Participatory Coral Reef Research, Rehabilitation and Conservation in Sri Lanka” promises to transform the Seenigama Reef, benefiting the local community for generations to come. To us the most poignant aspect of this project is that our Seenigama community has come full circle: from those who had made a living destroying the reef, to now becoming its fiercest defenders. In collaboration with scientific partners Wildlife Research & Conservation Trust of Sri Lanka (WRCT) and Marine Research and Consultancy, Blue Resources Trust (BRT), an innovative, practical solution has been introduced to heal the ailing coastal coral reefs – hollow concrete blocks!
In November of 2018 our FoG divers from Dive Seenigama, began the pilot project, following knowledge sharing sessions conducted by Tokyo Cement. The initial coral nubbins were propagated on coral nurseries then transferred to the Reef-Balls placed strategically along the Seenigama Reef. The changes are slow, but the pilot phase of the project has proven that the Seenigama Reef can be mended and that dedication from all of us is all that is needed to turn things around! Following the success of the pilot phase, FoG and TCG have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to expand the project and conserve the coral reef of Seenigama.
